Friday, January 6, 2006

Yesterday, we got the I-171H from the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), meaning we have been officially approved by the US government to adopt another wee one!

We'll drive to Austin next week to have the Secretary of State's office certify our documents (we had to wait for the I-171H to arrive so it can be certified too), and then they all go to the PRC Consulate in Houston. Assuming all goes well with those steps, our Dossier will be headed to our agency's office in Colorado for translation within a couple of weeks. Our goal is to have everything translated and ready to be sent to China by March 2nd - the first anniversary of our adoption of Sydney! The Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs will not allow us to log in our paperwork prior to that anniversary, so that has become our target.

Speaking of driving, our Passat is still lingering at the body shop. Why, you ask? Because the repairs are still going on? NO! Because the other party's insurance company waited until our car was ready (last week) to inform us that the amount of coverage carried by the other driver was the minimum legal limit, and it won't cover all of the damages! So now we're having to open an under-insured motorist claim with our insurance company (2 months after the fact...) and scramble to get them involved so we can get the body shop paid off and get the car back. I was really hoping to post an "after" picture to complement the "before" shots I showed back in November, but it will have to wait. I'm hoping we have it back by Tuesday so we can drive it to Austin. Otherwise we'll have to take the pickup we're working on buying from my parents ("Honey, I think I hear it drinking fuel!") or the Integra ("Honey, I can't hear anything over the road noise!"). Ah well, at least either of those would distract us from the sound of 50,000 college students celebrating some game or other that happened the other day. I guess we'll have to let Sydney wear the rotted orange, er, burnt orange t-shirt that her uncle gave her for Christmas. Maybe that will buy us safe passage through town...

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year's Day. We've had a touch of the ick going around the family, but it was so minor in comparison to the trials of others that I hesitate to even mention it. In spite of it all, Sydney is still learning and growing. And, hey, she has learned how to blow her nose into a tissue! (I never thought I would be rejoicing at such a thing.)

Thanks for including this site in your new year, and stay tuned for more reports on the adoption front!